Following in her Footsteps
by Miss Milly
Summary: Rory's been away from home for only three weeks and she's already homesick. But is it really homesickness, or could it be something else? Rated T. RoryLogan LukeLorelai Post S7 finale. Crap title, hopefully OK story.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes. Finally. This idea has been floating around my head since the end of Season 7. I know it's kind of typical, and predictable, but I only hope it's believable. And good. I also hope its good. That would be a plus.**

**Anyway, three weeks on the campaign-y thing Rory's sick and does not want to face the music. Sounds fun, doesn't it? **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, I do have all the DVDs (and I'm getting the 7th Season for Christmas) but that doesn't exactly count. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Rory groaned. This couldn't be happening. It shouldn't. She laid her heavy head down softly on the cool tiles in the hotel's bathroom floor. She'd only been on this stupid campaign thing for three weeks already and she was tired of it. It sounded much more appealing before the fact, but now that she was actually there, it sucked. Big time. And not only that the whole thing in general sucked, but she was sick the entire time. At first Rory just though it was homesickness. Though it didn't make much sense, it was plausible. Then she figured she'd gotten some mild, constant food poisoning. Eventually she came to the conclusion that she had the flu. In July. And finally she realized she had to face the facts. She was late, and she was sick, and, well, she was late. Rory was never late. In every aspect of life she was always right on time. Early even, but never, ever late.

Rory closed her eyes tightly as another wave of nausea hit her. She readied her arms to lift her body back up to the toilet, but the feeling passed. Relieved, she collapsed back on the floor.

"Rory! C'mon, I have to pee!" The voice of the woman she'd been sharing her hotel rooms with. Danielle Fellows was only a year older than Rory, but she acted like she was three. Not that it was a bad thing, sometimes it's good to have some immaturity on a very serious campaign. Then there are the times when Rory could throttle her without hesitation.

Rory groaned loudly in response. "Rory! You can't seriously still be sick can you? It's been, like, what, three weeks? What sickness lasts three weeks?" Rory groaned again.

There was silence from behind the bathroom's dingy door and finally a loud gasp. "No!" Danielle cried loudly. "Seriously?" Another groan from Rory.

"Alright, I'm coming in. I'm tired of talking through this stupid door." She announced and turned the knob. "Hey! It's locked! Open the door Gilmore." Danielle's pouty voice demanded.

"That would require getting up. I don't wanna." Rory called back.

"Rory. Get. Up. This is serious."

Rory sighed and pulled herself up on the counter and shuffled her feet towards the door. She clicked the lock open discouragingly and sat back down on the floor immediately, avoiding eye contact with her new friend. Danielle flopped onto the floor beside her.

"You ok?" She asked somberly.

"I-I don't know, Dee. I think." Rory said confused. She felt tears starting to burn behind her eyes, threatening to fall. She prayed they wouldn't, she didn't have the energy to full on cry right now, and not in front of this fairly new person in her life who has yet to see her at her most vulnerable.

Danielle placed a comforting hand on her knee. "Look, I've got to go out for awhile. Do you need me to pick anything up?" Rory knew she was lying. Danielle was already in her pjs, she'd washed her make-up off and her hair was in a loose, less than attractive ponytail. She was obviously ready for bed.

Rory sighed. "You don't have to." Her voice cracked.

"Yes I do. You need some space and some time to think. I can give you that. And who knows, you might not even be…" She drifted off.

"Just say it." Rory interjected miserably and a tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"You might not be…pregnant." Danielle finished slowly. "I'll pick up some tests from the drugstore while I'm out." She added cheerfully before getting up from the bathroom floor slowly.

She left the motel room with a falsely happy goodbye leaving Rory alone with her thoughts. She couldn't be pregnant. She just…couldn't. The universe wouldn't be this cruel to her, would it? Tears began to blur her vision until they brimmed over onto her cheeks. How could this have happened? How could she _let_ this happen?

20 minutes later Danielle returned banging the door open loudly. "Honey, I'm home!" She called to Rory who had moved from the bathroom floor to one of the lumpy mattresses that the motel chain called a bed.

Danielle tossed three Shopper's bags onto the empty bed parallel to her friend's. "How many tests did you get?" Rory asked in disbelief when she finally dug through one of the bags.

Danielle shrugged. "'Dunno. A bunch. I got lots of other stuff too though." Rory reached for one of the other bags.

"A bottle of Pepsi, cough syrup, apple juice…what is all this?" Rory questioned curiously

Danielle jumped gleefully on the bed beside her and grabbed the other two bags. "We are going to get your mind off of everything. Well sort of."

"Ok…" She replied slowly.

"I was bored so I decided we would test all sorts of drinks, liquids and anything else I could get my hands on." Danielle clapped her hands excitedly and started pulling other things out of the bags.

"Doritos? We're testing Doritos?" Rory asked skeptically.

Danielle raised her eyebrows. "Of course not." She said obviously. "They're for eating. Same with the licorice and the cheesies and the Twinkies."

An hour later the motel room was filled with used pregnancy tests scattered on the floor. The two girls were back on the bed snacking on some licorice quietly.

"Who knew liquid dish soap was pregnant?" Rory asked as she reached for another Twinkie.

"I wonder what the scrub brush will think." Danielle contemplated and ripped a piece of licorice off with her teeth.

"Yeah." Rory replied downheartedly.

"Do you want to go check?" Her friend asked softly and she nodded mutely. They left Rory's tests in the bathroom, shielding themselves from the impending revelation. Silently they shuffled their feet towards the doorway to the tests. Rory had taken three, just to be sure.

Rory's hand trembled as she reached for the first test. Danielle watched nervously.

"Oh God." Rory blinked back the tears as she read the results. "This can't be—I mean, I just don't—I can't do this." She said defeated as she slid to the floor.

"Don't beat yourself up yet. There are still two other tests. Maybe it was a dud." Supplied Danielle. "Wait—Never mind." She frowned when she read the others.

"They have to be wrong. I'm not. I can't be!" Rory cried when the gravity of the situation hit her.

"You'll get through this. And I promise I will be here if you need me." Danielle gave her hand to Rory to pull her up from the dingy bathroom floor. "C'mon. It's been a very long day, and we're leaving pretty early in the morning. We can figure out what to do tomorrow, alright?"

Rory nodded as she was dragged to her bed and Danielle flicked off the lights. She heard the sheets ruffle as she climbed into her bed and got comfortable.

"'Night Gilmore."

"'Night Fellows…and thanks. For everything."

* * *

**So what did you think? This is my first Gilmore Girls fanfiction. How'd I do?**

**Don't forget to review!**

**_Emily_**


	2. Telling

**Wow. I am impressed. 15 reviews? Yay! That's just...wow. Thank you all so much! And all of them were really positive with no "You should change this." or "You should do this." Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I'm still excited. Alright here's the next bit! I'm not really happy with the beginning of Lorelai's section-y thing, but I tried a million times to fix it, but it...wouldn't. So you're stuck with what's here.**

**Enjoy!**

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Sitting on her uncomfortable seat on the rundown bus, Rory tried to gather her thoughts, though her friend was making it difficult. Beside her, Danielle was munching loudly on the leftover Doritos oblivious to the noise she was making despite the crude mutterings of their fellow journalists. Rory tried to drown them all out and watched the uninteresting scenery go by. What was she going to do? She could never get rid of it. She wasn't that kind of person and even though this…baby was extremely unexpected, she would never be able to live with herself if she got an abortion or put it up for adoption. So that only left with one option. She would have the baby. Just thinking about it sent shivers up her spine. She wasn't ready for something this big. She was barely out of college. She'd just started life on her own. How was she going to do this?

"Anybody home?" A cheesy hand waved in front of her face.

"Yes Dee?" Rory asked irritated.

"You got all glazed over and drooling. Well not drooling, but I think you were close."

"I kinda have a lot on my mind, Danielle." She stared at the immature woman who was sitting beside her.

"Oh right. I knew that." Danielle said and shoved another handful of chips into her mouth. "So is the father that Cheeseburger guy you were telling me about last week?" She asked suddenly.

"Um, Huntzberger?" Rory raised her eyebrow.

"Cheeseburger, Huntzberger, same difference. Are you going to tell him?" Danielle asked directly.

"I guess I should…but not yet. I don't think I can tell him yet." She frowned and ran her hand through her messy hair.

"What about your mom? You're always saying how close you guys are." Danielle pried and searched her bag for a water bottle.

Rory paused. She was going to have to tell her mother eventually, and she was not looking forward to it. Lorelai Gilmore would not take the news well Rory shuddered just thinking about it.

"Well?" Danielle demanded.

"I-I guess. I should. I will. I think. I-I don't know!" Rory cried flustered.

"Calm down Gilmore. Of course you'll tell her. If you don't she'll see it eventually. From what I've heard she's not entirely stupid. Hey, is there any Twinkies left?" She asked distractedly as she dug through her purse.

"No. We ate them all." Rory replied bitterly. But Dee was right; her mom would see the impending stomach bulge and eventually a baby. She sighed. "I should call her tonight. Oh God! I have to call my mom, and tell her I'm pregnant. That's pretty much her worst nightmare."

"Yikes." Danielle added sympathetically and took a sip of water. "She has the right to know though. She _did _give birth to you, you know."

"I kind of guessed." Rory responded bemused.

"Hey!" She exclaimed excitedly. "You can hang that over your kid for the rest of their life."

"I'm familiar with that tactic." Rory grinned halfheartedly.

"My dad used it every chance he got." Danielle supplied.

"Your dad?"

"My mom died in childbirth. Huge complications, apparently those aren't fun. He never let me forget it…" She said dreamily.

"Um, okay. I'm sorry to hear that." Rory apologized awkwardly.

Danielle perked up. "That's ok. Never met the woman, I've been told she was a bitch and deserved what she got."

"Alright, moving on." Rory said quickly.

"Hey, Ror?"

"Hm?"

"What are you going to do? I mean about the campaign."

Rory paused. "I'm not sure. I'll just have to leave I guess."

"You could probably stay 'til your third trimester." Danielle offered.

"I know I could, but I don't want to be away from home while…all this," She gestured to her stomach. "Is going on. I think I should really be home with my mom. I'll never be able to do this without her."

"It's really up to you. At least try to stay for awhile to get some more experience." Her companion suggested.

"I don't know. Maybe. But I don't have to decide now, do I? I still have to tell people. Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Logan, and Miss Patty." Rory listed off discouragingly.

"Who's Miss Patty?"

"If I tell her, the whole town will know within the hour. Saves me time." She half grinned.

* * *

"Morning sunshine." Lorelai smirked into her pillow as Luke climbed out of her bed.

He looked startled for a second but composed himself quickly. "Sorry to wake you, I gotta get back to the diner. Early delivery." He muttered as he pulled on his pants.

Lorelai threw the covers off dramatically and climbed out of bed. "Well now I'm up and I want coffee." She said eagerly and pushed past Luke down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Luke followed a few minutes later and found her at the kitchen table sipping a steaming cup of coffee contently. "I'll, uh, see you later, kay?"

Lorelai nodded and smiled serenely at him. She was so happy they were finally back together again.

Everyone always said they'd belonged together and at the beginning she didn't believe it. But when they first went out the idea began to grow on her, and now she was sure. As Lorelai heard him walk out the front door into the cool morning air another whiff of the sweet aroma of her coffee reached her nose. Reluctantly she got up from her chair and retreated back upstairs for an early shower, before venturing out into the day walking Paul Anka.

The Dragonfly was fairly mellow which left Lorelai to contemplate her life. She was back with Luke, Rory was finally beginning her career that they had planned since she was five and there wasn't going to be a Friday Night Dinner at the Gilmore's this week. She may have told a slight fib of the Inn having this big event that she could not miss if she valued her job, just so she could have a night in with Luke. Friday nights weren't half as bearable without Rory.

Rory. It just hit her; she hadn't spoken to her in four days. Quickly, Lorelai pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her daughter's number in record speed. It rang a few times and finally Rory's voice greeted her.

"Hey Kiddo!" She said excitedly.

"Oh, hey mom." Lorelai frowned. She sounded distracted.

"You busy?" She asked concerned.

"Um, no. We're just on the bus." Rory paused. "Hey, mom?"

"Yeah Kid?"

"I think I'm going to come home soon."

"Oh. Is the campaign over or what?" She questioned.

Rory didn't answer.

"Rory?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"What's up?"

"I-I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, kay?"

"Rory." Lorelai said firmly. "What's going on?"

"Don't hate me." Rory said quickly.

"Why would I hate you, love of my life, fruit of my loin?" Lorelai covered her concern with a false cheery voice.

"I-…"

"Yes…" She encouraged.

"I'm…pregnant. I'm pregnant." Rory's voice cracked.

Lorelai could not believe it. Her daughter, _her daughter_, was pregnant. As in having a baby.

"Mom?" Her teary voice broke Lorelai's train of thought. "I know this is a lot to take, believe me I know, but please say something." She begged.

"I don't know what to say." Lorelai said defeated.

"Say your disappointed, or-or say that…you're disowning me, or just say something! Anything!" Lorelai could almost hear the tears falling.

"I can't disown you. You're an adult." She muttered and suddenly heard the shuffling of Rory's phone changing hands.

"Hey!" A cheery voice greeted.

"Um, hi?"

"Danielle Fellows, friend of Rory. You're Lorelai right?"

"Uh, yes, yes I am. We were kind of having an…important conversation Danielle, so could you put Rory back on?"

"She's a little upset so I took the reins. She was actually going to call you tonight to tell you, _she _only found out last night. So we're coming to Stars Hollow probably tomorrow afternoon."

"We're?"

"Oh yeah, I'm going with Rory. This place would be no fun without her. Okay, she seems calm again."

"Mom?" Rory's voice returned to Lorelai's ears.

"So…I just met Danielle. Interesting character."

"Yup that's Dee for ya." She chuckled halfheartedly.

"And you're both coming home."

"Yup."

"Good, good. That's…good."

The two were silent for a few seconds.

"I'm telling Grandma and Grandpa at Friday Night Dinner." Rory said awkwardly.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"Well, I kind of planned on skipping this week."

"Oh, well I could always do it next week." Rory offered.

"No no, the sooner the better. How-how far along are you?"

"Um, I'm not really sure. Probably a month. Maybe more. I have no idea." She mumbled.

"Ok. Good to know. So I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?"

"That's the plan." Rory sighed. "You don't hate me, right?"

"No, I don't hate you, kid. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye mom. I love you."

"Love you too." Lorelai said before they both hung up. She had to sit down. Lorelai shuffled her feet to the nearest empty chair in the dining room. Rory, _her _Rory, was pregnant. She was just a kid herself and now she was responsible for a whole other life. Lorelai knew the situation well. At least Rory graduated high school and university, but it was still a lousy, undesirable situation.

* * *

**So the cat's out of the bag. Sort of. I hope it was somewhat believable at least. **

**Tell me what you think!**

**_Emily_**


	3. Going Home

**Alright, I'm finally updating. Sorry I havn't been, but I've been in a bit of a funk recently. I hope they're all still in character, and if not, please let me know so I can try to fix it next time. M'kay. On with the show!**

Lorelai tapped her foot in the living room. Paul Anka watched her curiously as she resumed her frantic pacing walking to and from the kitchen. She'd taken the day off from the Inn and spent the entire afternoon pacing the length of her house. Back and forth, back and forth back and forth. Finally, she heard the front door open and rushed over to greet her daughter.

"Mom!" Rory called as she stumbled into the door with her bags.

"Congratulations." Lorelai greeted, her voice laced with bitterness. Rory was taken aback. She knew her mother wouldn't be proud, but at the very least she could be supportive.

"So where's Danielle?" She continued in the same tone.

"She changed her mind. That girl has the attention span of a gnat." Rory muttered weakly.

"Oh well, that's too bad that she couldn't make it." Lorelai smiled awkwardly and stared at her daughter.

"Look, mom-"

"I raised you better than this. I raised you to be careful, and to think, and to not get pregnant!" She interjected desperately.

"I'm sorry!" Rory raised her voice. "It's not like I asked or meant for this to happen! Believe it or not, I did not plan this!"

"Well neither did I!" Lorelai shot back. A silent tension filled the air and she closed her eyes to try and calm herself down. "I've always told you to use condom sense." She muttered quietly and Rory snorted.

"Sorry." She apologized meekly and held back laughing.

Lorelai bit her lip and nodded. "Mmhmm." Finally the two burst into a fit of giggles. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." She grinned sheepishly and pulled her daughter into a big hug.

"I really am sorry, mom. I know how disappointed you must be." Her voice cracked as it took a sudden serious turn.

"I'll get over it." Lorelai squeezed her daughter affectionately. She would have to get over it; there was nothing she could do now. "So how did Logan take it?" She asked when Rory pulled away from the hug.

Rory avoided her mother's gaze. "He…didn't. I haven't told him yet."

Lorelai frowned. "You have to tell him, Hun. He has the right to know."

"I havn't even confirmed with a doctor yet. As soon as I do, sure then I'll tell him. But right now, I'm not sure if there's anything to tell." Rory snapped.

"Okay, okay. But don't put it off. It will only get harder." Lorelai warned and took all of Rory's bags from her grasp. She wandered into her daughter's old room and dumped them on the bed.

"Wanna call Al's for Chinese?" Lorelai called to Rory, who had ventured into the kitchen and gotten a glass of water.

"Uh, not tonight. I'm not sure I can keep it." Rory told her mother as she stumbled out of her room.

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, alright. Luke's than?" Rory nodded and the two set off to the diner in silence.

When they finally got there, Lorelai made to open the door but Rory stayed put. Lorelai raised an eyebrow and glanced at her daughter curiously.

Rory folded her arms across her chest and bit her lip. Finally, Lorelai gave in. "What is it?"

"It smells like onion rings in there." She stated obviously.

Lorelai paused. "So? You love the smell of onion rings!"

"As much as I normally love Luke's and all the smells it has to offer, I can't go in there. Even the slightest off scent will make my gag reflex go crazy." She explained with exaggerated hand gestures.

"Oh, okay. I'll get it to go then." Lorelai replied and stepped inside, leaving her daughter staring at the diner door.

"It helps when you open it." Rory jumped when she discovered Kirk standing beside her, mimicking her stance.

"W-what?" She stuttered in confusion when she came halfway to her senses.

"The door. It works better when you open it." He explained.

"Oh. Right. I knew that." She glanced at Kirk and he was looking at her skeptically. "I do!" He shrugged and Rory proceeded to glare at him. Finally Lorelai burst out of the diner with a handful of bags.

"C'mon Kid, let's go. Oh, hey Kirk." She greeted and Rory stuck out her tongue immaturely before walking briskly beside her mother.

Back at the house Lorelai emptied the food onto the kitchen table and the two of them dug in. Halfway through their meal, Lorelai opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes mom? Is there something you'd like to say?" She asked as if she was talking to a five year old.

Lorelai paused. "Well, uh, I was just wondering, um, when you were going to, uh see a doctor. To, you know, confirm it."

"I'm not sure." Rory thought out loud. "I guess I could always go see a doctor in Hartford before dinner tomorrow night, and if I…am, we could tell them during dessert."

"Good luck with that." Lorelai scoffed playfully at the mention of telling her parents. Rory gulped awkwardly and set down her fork.

"Mom?" She said as she began to put her dishes in the sink. "How did you tell them, you know, about me?"

Lorelai paused. "A note."

Rory almost dropped her plate. "You left them a _note?_" She asked skeptically while her mother nodded.

"_Dear Emily and Richard…_" Lorelai recited, gesturing dramatically with her hands.

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**That wasn't TOO bad, was it? Alright, please review if you enjoyed it! Or even if you didn't, review anyway to tell me that it sucked!**

**Emily**


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